How Much Did Your Outfit Today Cost?

by J. Money on Friday, March 9, 2012

As with every Friday on this site, I’d like to continue with another fun and fluffy post here today. To help give me an idea on all your fashionable (and frugal?) tastes in apparel! ;) And hopefully you’re already dressed and at work already too, so you can’t get re-changed to make your numbers look better! Haha… bet you didn’t think you were gonna get quizzed on that this morning?

Today’s game is real simple – all you have to do is list out what you’re wearing, how much it cost, and where you got it from. Or any combination you want, really – the point of it all is to see just how much we differ here on the site. There are no right or wrong answers as we all prioritize our spending differently – that’s a-okay!! If you happen to be a clothing whore, that’s fine – I’m sure you don’t spend in other areas like some of us others do (*ahem* GoDaddy) ;)

Earrings: $400 1 ct total (1/2 ct in each ear, down from $800) @ Kohl’s

So $88 total w/out the bling, and $503 WITH it ;) Imagine if I got the rocks outside of Kohl’s too? You could probably tack on another $1,000 alone w/ those bad boys, haha… and I’m not wearing my wedding band either (only when I leave the house), so that saves me another $500 to the totals as well. But as you can see, I’m a big fan of the man jewelry!

Your turn. How much money are YOU wearing today with that outfit you’re currently rockin’? Feel free to list as much or as little as you want – whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m just curious to see how much you ladies have been ponying up for those shoes lately ;)

No jewelry, no socks and no belt today. My shoes were $18 I think, purchased at an end-of-season sale at DSW.
Pants: Old Navy, probably about $20, but I bought them at least 5 years ago.
Shirt: Also Old Navy, $10ish
Undershirt: H and M, $8
Underwear: Part of one of those multipacks from Target, so we’ll say $3
If we want to get really personal here, my bra cost $54. I’m a hard-to-fit size, so it was worth every penny.

1) Land’s End button-down supplied by work ($35ish if I paid for it)
2) Old Navy ribbed tank $5
3) Gap jeans bought at Frugal Fannies about 10 years ago $15
4) Bra & undies from Maidenform outlet $30
5) Socks received as Christmas gift in 3-pack ($2 if I paid for them, TJ Maxx)
6) Keen slip-ons from Planetshoes.com $60
7) Engagement ring and wedding band $1200 total, split between hubby and me
8) Claddagh ring (gift from hubby when we were still dating, about $50-75?)
9) Garnet necklace (also a dating gift from hubby, $50?)
10) Fossil watch (guess who gave it to me and when! $75)

All things considered, this was a cheap day thanks to it being Friday and no one’s in the office. Regular weekday outfits are a lot more expensive!

Dress – $25 from ModCloth
Cardigan – ??? gift from my mom, I think from Kohls?
Tights – $7, also from Kohls
Shoes – $12 from Old Navy
Earrings – I made them… not sure of the materials cost, but it wasn’t more than a couple of bucks.
Rings – Uhh… I’m not sure, actually. I know my wedding ring was around $200. Not sure exactly what my husband paid for my engagement ring, but it wasn’t a lot because we were in college and jewelry makes me nervous. ;-) (Seriously, my rule for jewelry is that if I feel like I’d need to insure it, I don’t want to own it! My husband is a lucky guy.)

1) Pink & Brown striped shirt from Rue21. I got it a few years ago but I’m going to guess it was about $15 since I tend to buy things there when they are on sale.
2) Blue Jeans- again, had them for years so I’m going to take a guess that they are from JCPenny and were about $25. I hate buying jeans for more than $25.
3) Brown boots from Payless. I’m thinking another $20.
4) White and pink socks from Walmart, the whole pack cost me $4.
5) Martyr’s cross necklace from Voice of the Martyrs, another $20.
6) Sterling silver Celtic Knot ring – $.52 from Kohls! One of my best purchases EVER. It was a million% off and I had Kohls cash. The total was $.52 and I wear it every single day.
7) “Unmentionables” as we call them when we take kids to camp ;)- all from Victoria’s Secret and were bought on sale so that total is $30.
8) Earrings – they were a gift so $0!
9) Make up: Covergirl foundation, blush, mascara, and as a theatre chick I like to cheat and use some of my stage makeup as a concealer ;). The mascara was a gift, so $0, stage make up is a bit expensive so that was probably about $20, foundation I’m going to guess to be $10, and blush at $5.

Well since I’m on the west coast, I just woke up and I’m sitting here in my house coat and boxers. The housecoat I got for Christmas and I’m pretty sure it was homemade since my aunt is handy with a sewing machine. I don’t remember how much my boxers cost, but I normally don’t spend more than $5 for a pair. So I’m rocking a $5 outfit this morning.

Grand total $140, but since my wife has been trying to throw these clothes out for at least two years (and pretty sure everything but the shoes and boxers are at least four years old), gonna take a 50% depreciation expense and go with $70 plus my wedding band.

T-shirt – FREE (from my church)
Jeans – $1.00 – (brand new from Goodwill – they still had the tags on)
Jacket – $4.00 (Target clearance)
Underwear – FREE (Victoria’s Secret – I had a free coupon for this pair)
Bra – $4 (Walmart clearance)
Socks – FREE (they were in my stocking this past Christmas)
Shoes – $80 (they are my running shoes, which I don’t skimp on since I have bad knees)
2 set diamond earrings (2 holes in each ear) – unkonwn (one set was a gift from my sister, the other from my step-dad. I think the ones from my sister were around $400 and the others, I have no idea)
Wedding rings – ~$5,000 (I’m not sure on this number as the hubby did not tell me how much they cost – but he designed them himself, and they are blood free diamonds, so I’m guessing the $5K range)

So – without jewelry, I’m at $89.00. With jewelry, I’m at $5.5K+. Yikes!

Green boyfriend tee $8 @target
White tanktop $12 @target
Grey and purple cardigan: hand-me-down from my sister (probably about $15, though)
Boot-cut dark blue jeans: hand-me-down from my friend (Old Navy brand, so probably around $25)
Yellow scarf: $1 from a street vendor in India
Black socks: .75 @target (I just divided #of socks by total price – hope that’s not cheating!)
undies: $4.00 @aerie (bought on sale)
bra: $15 @target
KEDS black ankle boot: $5 @Savers (thrift shop, like Goodwill)
2 rings: one was a gift and I have no idea how much it cost, the other I bought and it was probably around $15
earrings: This is where it gets complicated: I wore 5 earrings last night, two were gifts, three I bought. Some were part of a cheap set and some were included when I got my ears pierced. Let’s just say around $12 for all three @H&M and @Claire’s
Glasses: $250 @target
makeup: gift, probably around $5

Wow, going through everything makes me sound like a real cheapskate. But honestly, most of my stuff is either given to me as a present or because one of my five sisters doesn’t want it anymore. It makes for a constantly changing wardrobe for a very low cost! Also, I think I have an addiction to Target. It’s just because I used to live about 15 minutes from one. Now I have moved and no longer get that luxury :(

This totals $632 sans bling. Dang. I would like to mention though, that all of these items (except my engagement ring and shoes) are over two years old, hopefully meaning my cost per wear is going down all the time!

Jeans – $14 @ Kohls (I stalk my particular brand until they go on sale and I have a coupon)
Shirt – $3 Walmart clearance
Bra – Free (in a bag of hand me downs, still had tags on, she bought wrong size)
Undies – $2 (one of a multipack)
Shoes – $30 @ Kohls (Most comfortable flats I’ve ever owned, originally $60)
Earrings – Valentine’s Day gift from boyfriend
Handbag – Another hand me down from bagoholic friend
Make-up: Nothing but lip balm today, but normally I wear Mary Kay because I am given tons of it by my boss’s wife (who is a consultant) in exchange for teaching her how to use Word.

Today is casual Friday at my office so here goes:
Ring/necklace/earrings: gift but I think it was $80 alltogether from JCP
Green zip up sweater-was a gift
glasses from Wal-mart-$140
Dressy T-shirt-gift
Slacks- gift
Shoes-gift
underwear-um? about $40 ish for both
white socks- $1–got the package on sale at Wal-Mart

So all in all :$261 or $180 minus the jewlery. Apparntly I’m wearing mostly free stuff though!

@Monroe on a Budget – Nice! Look at you adding in allthe make-up stuff too, haha – hadn’t even thought of that! I like how you have “Gold-color watch” too – just as elegant as a real gold watch! :)
@Jennifer G. – Haha… we’re all adults here, nothing wrong w/ that ;)
@Carrie – Huh. You ladies sure like your J.C. Penney eh? I’ve forgotten that store even existed still. Last time I was there was when my mom took me as a kid, haha… guess it’s a women thing! :)
@Michelle – That’s not too bad! Watch and see what other people put ;)
@Edward Antrobus – Wawa! I love that place – how’d you pull that one off for free? You ever work there?
@Jessica – It’s those bras for you ladies – they get ya every time!
@Rich Uncle EL – Look at you man, you’re stylin’! I was just in H&M for the first time in years this week, but sadly didn’t come away with anything fun this time… it’s hit or miss for me there.
@Mercedes – Yeah that’s not bad at all! I see you and the other ladies like their underwear from target too – I’m learning alot today! :)
@Leah – Haha, we’ll have to do it again mid-week then and see what happens ;) Thanks for playing along!
@Stephanie – HAH! That’s a great way to look at things though cuz you don’t want to be stressin’ about that stuff all the time – not worth it! I’ve already broke my wedding ring (twice), and then a diff. ring the other day (I swear I’m not doing anything crazy!), but I still never learn from it and continue getting nice things ;) You’re much smarter than I.
@Jon B – Wow, you are good! And totally agree – thrift stores are killer for that kinda stuff, well done my friend!
@Eunice – Haha… we sure like our bling ;)
@Emmy – $.52??? WOW! That’s great!!! You never cease to impress me, girl :)
@Jill – Haha, we got ya!! Caught you red handed :) I’m sure you save a lot though, maybe today was unique? Wonder how this would be if we asked it on the weekends?
@Modest Money – Cheater :)
@Tim – I’m sneaky like that ;)
@Jeff – Haha… make sure to keep the “homeless chic” look going though, it IS all the rage these days :)
@Jennifer – Oooooh VERY cool on your husband’s behalf though! He’s a pimp for designing the ring himself :)
@ImpulseSave – Awwwww, I think it’s sexy! As long as you’re happy with the look who cares how much it cost :) I bet others think you’ve been spending retail anyways, those are killer deals.
@Leah – Haha, sure – we can factor that in ;)
@Trinnie – You gotta be stylin’ yo! I love your makeup choice whenever I see your face :) And didn’t know about RED Fridays either, I like that!
@m1nts – Pretty good!
@Dy – You have awesome friends!! Haha… love it. And pretty cheap outfit too – way to go!
@bogofdebt – Yeah, you’ve got awesome friends too, haha…
@lora kathleen – Pretty classy styles though, I like it :) I bet you’re always well put together, huh?
@Yardwork – Haha… you’re a prepared young man! If I ever get lost and/or in trouble, I pray I’m around you at the time :)
@Alyssa – TOMS!! I love seeing those on women – so awesome :) I really want to get a pair for myself too, but never get to a store that carries them :( Though I suppose I could always look online too, huh? (making a note to self). Thanks for playing along!

Wedding rings: No idea. But I know they were not actual “wedding rings”, they were birthday stone rings that were on sale. I know they were inexpensive because he was sooo proud of himself for not getting sucked into the giant ring thing.
2 stone rings: about $10 total, made by me!
3 birthstone rings: about $80 total, not sure because they were a Christmas gift
Necklace: Free, inherited from Great Grandma
Cuff bracelet: Free, given to me by a friend
Hair clip: $5 handmade love
Ankle bracelet: Free, made by me
Shoes: $20 on clearance in the men’s section
Underthings: $60 total
Jeans: $10 on sale at Pennys
Shirt: $4 from one of my fave thrift shops
Glasses: $100 about 8 years ago
Makeup: Free. I’m not wearing any today, and even if I was it would still be free. I’m still riding a wave of freebies my dad got for me when he was working at Sephora. :)

Total without bling: $194
With bling: $289 plus wedding ring

Even without the glasses and jewelry, that’s a pretty spendy outfit for me. I’m high class today!

The blazer and the jeans were from the Gap, the rest from Old Navy, and the flats I ordered on Amazon. A total of $103. Not too shabby! Then again, I didn’t count my glasses. If I did, then my total outfit cost would probably be closer to $800. Gah!

Saucony running shoes: free (from friend who wears her running shoes for about a month and then tosses them)
Banana repulic socks: $5 (had a gift card to use up)
Rock Revival jeans: free (another friend who out grew them and then passed them on to me)
banana republic blue shirt: $4 (from consignment shop)
Lands End black fleece pullover: free (friend cleaning out her closet and realized she had 5 fleeces so passed this one on to me)
underwear: $2 (clearance from Dillards)
Victory secrets bra: free (ran into a lady outside of a consignment shop who had a ton of bras in my size and was throwing them out b/c she got a boob job; I got real lucky with this one since it amounts to about $300 in bras she gave me).

Grand total of about $7. I am blessed with amazing people in my life and good fortune.

Cami – $6 Target (on sale)
Lounge pants – $10 Target (on clearance)
Socks (no-name) – $2 Target
Robe (yes, totally sporting a pink polka dotted robe!) FREE from Ulta as a gift I got while buying a Christmas present for a friend – $0
Not currently wearing my makeup or jewelry and, granted, I look like a bum, but my butt just walked to the mailbox looking like this and someone beeped at me! (I’m telling myself that was a “Hey-look-at-that-hottie beep!” and not a “Holy-crap-wear-some-decent-clothes beep!” LOL! :)

It’s Friday and I don’t care day, because I am going to NY all next week, so my outfit somewhat reflects that.

Leather Sneaker- Crocs Hover (current price 49.99) I got them for a bogo free sale, so paid $20 with all discounts and sales
Blue Jeans- Gloria Vanderbuilt from Kohls probably. With coupon and discount less than $20
Black socks-Target around $15 for 3 pairs, so around $5
Long sleeve T-shirt-Target on sale probably around $10 or less, never pay full price.
Not going into other things I am wearing, but will give you an estimate of $50 for the rest.
Glasses-because I am lazy and have too much homework-$200
Rings, not going to say.
Total: <$285 unless you count rings and other stuff I won't say

Ha, today is the perfect day to get asked that question because I’m working from home instead of at the office! Gives me a little more wiggle room when it comes to “business casual” :-)

T-shirt – FREE! It’s one of the thousands of free shirts I got in college at events etc.
Yoga pants – $25 at Target
Bra and undies – $45 from VS (they keep sending me Free Panties coupons, so the undies were free!)
Watch – $25 at JCPenny’s
Moccasins – They were a gift from my husband, I’m not sure how much they cost

So $95 total, unless you include the cost of my engagement and wedding rings. I don’t know how much the engagement ring cost, but again, I sort of count those as a gift from my husband (I think the wedding band was about $600, so that would definitely bump it up if you count that!)

I’m in the Royal Canadian Navy so just about everything I’m wearing is courtesy of the government – except for my undies… and $5.00 seems ludicrous considering the actual amount of material involved lol

Total: $797. Kind of middle of the road for me, even though it is high. At the lowest my bras tack on at least $100. With the exception of the jeans and underwear, almost everything I’m wearing I bought in university over 4 years ago. I think cost per wear counts for something here.

I’m a student in my early 20s so I don’t have much money. But my closet is small, selected, and not short in things I love. I take very good care of my clothes so it lasts and I’ve never paid retail. My mom was always a deal hunter and taught us well. I don’t even think I have ever spent over $200 on clothes in one year and I also shop very rarely. I know when the big sales are and what stores have student/extra discounts and such.

My best deals are always where deal hunters don’t even think to go – final sales at Bloomies, Nordstroms, Saks. When I get the itch to shop (which is very often) i use it to look for deals and leave them out in the open for someone else to enjoy.

Very interesting post!
Since I took the day off to have a prrocedure done this isn’t my normal wear
Socks- bed and body works 1.98 on sale
Sweatpants – free with gift card from sears
Sweatshirt- 20 on line forgotten what site
Panties- 3 on sale at dillards
Bra- 35 dillards
Fleece jacket- 20 at Sam’s
No makeup and jewelry at the hospital

79.98 is my total – I fine that acceptable since they are all many years old and I will wear them until they are rags!

It’s funny that you should post about the cost of clothes today as I was just thinking about that. I recently loss some weight so I keep changing holes in my belt and I realized, wow I bought this belt for $30 maybe 20 years ago and the belt is still still going strong. I guess I got my $30 worth out of it.

The original cost of an outfit only tells half the story though (if that). If you buy high end clothing that lasts a long time, the cost per wear of each item could end up significantly lower than cheap clothing that only lasts through a few washes. When I have bought Walmart clothing I often find it only looks good for a couple of weeks and then it’s all messed up from the wash. Cheap jeans often get ripped quickly. When I buy $100 Silver jeans though they last for years and still look great.

White Shirt – $0 (homecoming gift from a friend in the Philippines)
Jeans Short – $0 (birthday gift from a friend)
underwear – $20
bra – $10
Sneakers – $0 (birthday gift from my brother-in-law for my daughter but it was too big for her and fitted on me, instead!)
no jewelry or accessory

So incredible how many of you guys are participating in this! Thank you! So much fun to read :) Now time to take a deep breath, and then respond to all these, haha…

@Daydream Kate – Haha… you’re also mighty crafty! That’s awesome! :)
@Joe @ Retire By 40 – We may have a winner here, folks!
@YFS – I like how everything is relatively cheap, and then you whip out the watch ;) That’s awesome. I can totally appreciate that.
@Jessica – That’s a great goal! And congrats too on losing all tha weight – rock on!
@Melissa – Glad you like this stuff – it’s def. interesting to me too :) And I love how Boxing Day is my birthday, haha… but of course we don’t celebrate that here in the U.S.
@HighOrderGuiltComplex – WoW you are good!!! I’m impressed! And Saucony is one of my all-time favorite shoe brands too, well done :)
@Rai – Totally entertaining! I’m still shocked at how many people are doing this, haha… guess we’re all just super curious, eh? :) Thanks for stopping by!
@Jen – HAH! That is too funny :) I’m totaly sure it was a “hottie” beep, I mean come on!
@DB – Nice! I have a pair of outlet Crocs too – the only pair I have, actually. Super comfortable!
@LB – Leather crocs? Interesting… maybe like half leather at top, and then that normal plastic all around? My dad has a pair like that – prett cool cuz it has laces too :)
@Jessi @ PracticallyFunctional – Yeah working from home! Or in your case “reading blogs at home” haha… love it ;)
@Lindsay Z. – I bet! And lots of more expensive stuff usually lasts longer too, so that def. counts.
@SophieW – Very cool! Royal Canadian Navy eh? Don’t know much about it, but sounds fancy! :)
@Kelly – Pinky rings! Forgot chicks wear those – always found them pretty sexy :)
@Andrea @ Investing for Beginners – No shame in that!
@Nicci – Haha, yeah you’d find all your free stuff to wear if you waited! :) Well done my friend, you kept it real.
@BrokeElizabeth – Not bad at all :)
@Rachel211 – Bandana – yes! A very awesome accessory :) And cheap too, apparently!
@tom – Look at you mr. dapper! And you could have had $0 on, but that would be a different part of the evening, haha…
@Kathy – Wow you have an awesome sister! Whew! :)
@Andrea – Man, that sterotype that ladies buy a lot of expensive shoes sure isn’t coming out on this post… I’m impressed :)
@Andrew from FabulousSavings – Joe Fresh? Never heard of but sounds pretty cool. Real relaxing feeling eh?
@SavvyFinancialLatina – Nice! 50% is awesome – love finding deals like that.
@Mrs. Money Mustache – I’m gonna catch you one day when you and Mr. Mustache are going out on the town ;)
@Jen – That sucks on losing all those earings :( I lost accessories all the time, it blows. Good call on swapping in fakies! (not like anyone ever notices anyways, though I know it does feel better somehow w/ real ones on)
@Serena@ThriftDiving – Haha… thanks for the mental image ;) Since I don’t know what you look like, I’m just gonna picture Sofia Vergara – deal?
@Cassie – Oh man, that must be tough w/ those bra pricings – sorry to hear :( And VERY interested in what you mean about the engineering ring? Something for work? Or do you mean like a class ring? haha… actually, that’s probably it, huh? Man I’m slow :)
@Annette – WOW that’s impressive!! Seriously! I love the “everything in my closet I love” method – so cool :) Your mom taught you well!
@Ella – Haha, well that’s good! It seems those picks should last longer than other brands too, right? I bet it looks hot on :)
@Good Cents Savings – Haha… I like how you calculated a “per wear” cost ;) Never even heard (or thought of?) that until you ladies started mentioning it here… good stuff.
@Georgie – I miss state fairs!! So much fun :)
@Hermoine – I hope everything went well! And you’re out of the hospital now! Those things give me the heebie jeebies ;)
@Sarah – Oooh nice pick up in Spain. Those are the best – stuf you collect from traveling :)
@Maggie – Pretty good!
@Heather – Haha… you sure do love those boots! 5 pairs is something, at least you run w/ what you like ;)
@Slackerjo – Cool! That’s great you’re losing so much weight right now too – congrats! :)
@Carol in Mpls – I don’t know how y’all deal with all that snow/cold stuff, boy… I’m a wuss w/ freezing temps :(
@Crystal – Damn good work there! I love the “Horny Toad” too, haha… I can only imagine what that looks like ;)
@eemusings – Your knickers were free? Bow chicka wha wha!
@Rebecca – HOLY. $HIT. Haha… you win the prize of the day! WOW! :) I’m gonna assume you prioritize a lot, so you can have an awesome closet of goodies. But either way, if you can work it – go for it!
@Nicole – Maternity? Woohoo – congrats! :)
@Marianne – True true, nothing bad on spending on higher quality stuff as long as you can afford it :)
@Cherleen @ My Personal Finance Journey – Nice! I’ll have to catch you on a work day to see how much it changes :)

On a budget-related blog I didn’t think I’d be one of the lowest totals (and Serena still has me beat for sure), but after reading all these other posts I realize it must be a combination of frugality and a complete lack of fashion sense.

Slightly unfair that I’m reading this on a Saturday, so I’ll post today and yesterday (a work day) totals.

Also, other than the undergarments, every other clothing item is 5 to 10 years old or older. Did I mention that I’m not really into clothes?

And since we’re talking budgets, our family’s “Clothing” budget only includes clothes for the kids and occasionally for the wife. My own clothes purchases come out of my discretionary spending, which means I don’t buy many clothes, ever!

Haha… I think you def. take the prize for the most use of your clothes :) I was expecting a much bigger difference from your Saturday attire to your work combo, but nope! You’ve mastered the art of clothing yourself on the cheap! Nicely done, sir.

@J.Money It’s not a class ring like you would get from a university, it’s a ring given to Canadian Engineers after they say their oath. I don’t believe other countries do it. It’s called the iron ring. If I lose it it’ll cost me about $30 to replace it, but I had to get my engineering degree to get it in the first place.

Random little piece of useless information, our oath was written by the same guy who wrote The Jungle Book.

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